Chris Lester joins The Beacon as interim editor-in-chief

Chris Lester

This story was originally published by The Beacon, an online news outlet focused on local, in-depth journalism in the public interest. 

We are building something important at The Beacon, and this is a pivotal moment in that work. To help lead us forward, I asked longtime Kansas City journalist Chris Lester to step in as interim editor in chief.

Chris brings nearly 24 years of newsroom leadership at The Kansas City Star, where he served as reporter, columnist, editor and ultimately assistant managing editor for business coverage. He was co-writer of “Divided We Sprawl,” a Pulitzer finalist, and won a Gerald Loeb Award for “Frank’s Town.” More recently, he led Kansas City PBS and Flatland as managing editor, expanding civic engagement and public-interest journalism.

Chris had planned to step back from full-time newsroom life. I asked him to take on this role because his leadership is exactly what we need right now. He brings deep editorial experience, trusted relationships across journalism in this region and a clear understanding of where civic journalism is headed.

Chris is helping us:

• Build the editorial team that will launch Documenters KC and deepen our civic journalism.
• Strengthen our core coverage of local and state government, health, education and economic mobility.
• Deepen partnerships with peer newsrooms and civic institutions across the region.
• Recruit veteran journalists and emerging talent to help us grow.
• Lead collaborative projects, such as the voter guide effort where he played a key leadership role last year.

Chris and I bring complementary strengths to this work. My focus is strategy, partnerships and sustainability. Chris brings editorial leadership and trusted relationships. Together, we are helping The Beacon grow in ways that strengthen journalism in Kansas City, across the state and for the communities we serve.

Why this moment matters for The Beacon

We are five years in at The Beacon, and in many ways, we are just getting started. We are building the core team that will carry us forward, strengthening our foundation and stepping into a bigger role in the region’s news landscape.

When I first stepped into this role, The Beacon was more of an ancillary player. Now we are becoming a go-to source for civic journalism in Kansas City, and our work is reaching more people across Kansas and Missouri. On our own, we routinely reach more than 100,000 unique readers every month, and they are spending more time with our reporting, averaging about two minutes per story. On top of that, other newsrooms are republishing our stories widely. Since January alone, Beacon stories have been republished 574 times by other outlets, bringing critical civic reporting to even more audiences across the region.

I also want you to hear from Chris directly. Here is a short Q&A to give you a sense of who he is and what this next chapter means.

Q&A with Chris Lester

You have held many newsroom leadership roles across Kansas City. What drew you to The Beacon at this moment?

The chance to work with a nonprofit newsroom that is laser-focused on delivering in-depth, fact-based journalism on issues that truly matter to Kansas City and the region. It’s a mission that meets this moment.

What excites you most about the opportunity to help lead The Beacon’s growth?

Helping build a place where both seasoned and emerging journalists can do meaningful work at a critical time, not just for journalism but for the communities we serve. We have an opportunity to shape how civic journalism serves this region. That is exciting.

How do you think The Beacon can best contribute to the local journalism ecosystem, both in Kansas City and statewide?

Our sweet spot is explanatory journalism. We connect the dots between public policy and its real-world impact on people’s lives. We focus on fundamental issues such as access to economic opportunity, affordable housing, education, and health care. And we offer our work freely for other news outlets to republish and share. It is a model that helps strengthen the entire ecosystem.

You played a key role in last year’s collaborative voter guide project. What did you take away from that experience, and where do you see potential for future collaboration?

I worked closely with The Beacon newsroom team during our voter guide collaborative project and saw firsthand what is possible when journalists collaborate instead of compete. With the number of working journalists shrinking at an alarming rate, those of us still in the field need to lean into partnerships. We need to coordinate coverage, share reporting and deliver trusted information to the public in as many ways as possible. We are stronger when we do this work together.

What advice would you give to journalists and newsrooms navigating a time of so much change in the industry?

Remember that journalism is an honorable craft. Focus on the next best story. Do it well. Repeat. In times like these, staying grounded in the basics and serving your community with integrity matters more than ever.

This article first appeared on The Beacon and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.